GP Taylor: Why fracking in Ryedale must be resisted at all costs

From the conversations that then sprung up all around, the woman was obviously right. No-one within earshot seemed to think that pumping millions of gallons of polluted water into the ground was a good thing.

With the Government having sold off licences to frack for gas across the North East, ordinary people are now starting to ask questions.

I have to admit that up until that day I was ignorant of what fracking was all about. I just presumed it was yet another cause to keep the Greenham Common Brigade busy. It was only when I started to delve into the murky waters of shale gas production that I began to get worried.

At the core of this issue is financially driven speculation and a total disregard for local democracy.

It appears, by hook or by crook, that gas drilling will be coming to a green field or street corner near you.

What worries me more than anything is that the Tory government is set to overrule any council that objects to drilling. That, to me, is an insult to Yorkshire.

In an economy where oil prices are tumbling, why are we frantically looking for more fossil fuel?

Supporters say the fracking of shale gas could significantly contribute to the UK’s future energy needs. There is talk of being able to set up a sovereign wealth fund from the profits to benefit future generations. Drilling, it is said, will bring jobs and everyone will benefit.

However, Professor Jim Watson, research director of the UK Energy Research Centre, told BBC News: “It is very frustrating to keep hearing that shale gas is going to solve our energy problems – there’s no evidence for that whatsoever... it’s hype.”

I would rather believe an expert than a politician any time. It would seem that the whole issue of shale gas is being oversold by the Government and the narrative they are using is hyperbole. This is quite worrying for residents in Yorkshire, and especially Ryedale.

Having lived and worked in that beautiful area of our county, I am horrified that the Government would ever dream of allowing gas wells to blot the landscape.

Despite the aesthetic problems of land-based gas rigs being built in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, there is also the problem of pollution. What I didn’t realise was that the fracking process pumps 40,000 gallons of chemicals used for each fracturing site along with eight million gallons of water. Carcinogens and toxins such as lead, benzene, uranium, radium, methanol, mercury, hydrochloric acid, ethylene glycol and formaldehyde are all used.

That is quite a poisonous cocktail being pumped into the ground where we get our water from and on which we graze livestock and grow crops. It is estimated that the radioactive soup that is recovered is only 50 per cent of what was pumped in.

The rest of this toxic mix is left in the ground. The upside of that, I was told, was that it meant fewer lorries on the road taking the toxins away. An obvious blessing to us all! Just leave the mixture in the ground to pollute our water supplies.

America has undergone a fracking craze and this has been directly responsible for the current low price of oil. The cost of this to the people near drilling sites is frightening if reports are to be believed. The sand used in the process causes localised problems and can affect breathing. Methane gas has ended up in water supplies, with one woman being able to light the gas as it came out of her tap.

The amount of water used has to come from somewhere and, even with the recent floods, Yorkshire is very bad at keeping its water supplies well stocked.

On top of this, there is the very real problems of earthquakes associated with fracking. The Blackpool earthquake is a fine example of this. In America, previously stable areas of the country now experience quakes that even their government admit have been linked to fracking.

To allow fracking in our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty is totally stupid. We have an area renowned for tourism that we are going to deliberately spoil for the purposes of making a few rich people even richer.

The industrialisation of Ryedale, and other parts of Yorkshire, should be fought at all costs.

• GP Taylor is a writer and broadcaster and can be followed @GPTaylorauthor.